Luke Armstrong to be welcomed back into the Harrogate Town fold after Wrexham move falls through

The Sulphurites agreed a deal to sell last season’s leading goal-scorer to League Two rivals Wrexham on transfer deadline day, only for that move to fall through due to the Welsh outfit failing to submit paperwork relevant to his registration in sufficient time.

And the Red Dragons announced on Wednesday morning that they had abandoned their plans to appeal the Football League’s (EFL) decision on the matter, meaning that Armstrong will remain a Harrogate player until at least January.

And Town boss Weaver has subsequently confirmed that the 27-year-old striker will now be welcomed back into the Wetherby Road fold.

"We now know that we will have Luke Armstrong with us until January at least and that is a huge boost to us because Luke is a very good player,” he said.

“For both Luke and the club it’s now about moving forward. To do that, we will be sitting down with Luke tomorrow at training to make sure his mind is clear and that he is happy to return to match action.

“If you are to perform to the best of your ability then it’s important that you have that happiness. Beyond that, if Luke feels ready to return it’s a straightforward footballing decision for Paul Thirlwell and I.

“Now I hope that the feeling which has been hanging over the club can be lifted. We want to move on together and while it has been a rollercoaster for everyone involved, we move forward with one of the best strikers in League Two.

“Circumstances have dictated that Luke remains a Harrogate Town player and moving forward I hope that everybody can get behind him and the rest of the squad as we look to build on last night’s victory [over Nottingham Forest Under-21s].”

Weaver went on to say that Armstrong himself has had to endure something of a testing time in recent days and that he is prepared to offer the former Middlesbrough forward whatever support he needs to help with the reintegration process.

“Of course, as manager, I have full allegiance to Harrogate Town, but emotionally Luke has been through quite the rollercoaster in the last seven days,” he added.

“Both Luke and his partner were excited by something new happening in their lives and a lot of energy went into that so we need to make sure that he is alright. If not, we have to do everything we can to make sure he will be in the future.

“While these discussions were ongoing, Luke trained with the squad on Monday and he applied himself brilliantly and that is something which was clear for all to see in the games leading up to this potential move.

“With a potential appeal still in the air, we elected not to include Luke against Nottingham Forest U21s, but he was there supporting his team-mates. We have a great group of lads and Luke will find it easy to fit back in with them again.”

Armstrong initially signed for Harrogate from Salford City in the summer of 2021.

He scored 14 times in his first season at Wetherby Road and went on to enjoy an even better year in front of goal last term, finding the net on 16 occasions as he started every single one of Town’s 46 League Two fixtures

The former Middlesbrough forward bagged his first and only goal of the current campaign in last month’s 2-0 home win over Morecambe, converting a 20th-minute penalty.

But that strike only came after he missed Town’s opening two matches of 2023/24 having said that he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play amidst a flurry of transfer bids lodged by League One and Two sides on the eve of the new season.

Despite still having two years to run on his contract, Armstrong was offered a three-year deal on improved terms earlier this month but could not be persuaded to sign it prior to agreeing to join Wrexham last Friday.

Thus far, he has made 106 competitive appearances for the club, scoring 31 times and contributing 12 assists.